When the Clock Strikes Midnight
by Angel2
Summary: Happy Shogatsu, minna-san! (In case you dont know what that means, I just said happy new year) This is a little Holiday/Christmas/New Years Present. Hope ya like! Please r/r! Arigatou


When the Clock Strikes Midnight  
By: Angel 

Disclaimer: I dont own anything. I do own one thing though...and that is this story right here. Other than that.... Fox Kids and Toei Animation own it all...... 

Oh yeah....I dont own that song thats down there either.... That belongs to Evan and Jaron.... 

Happy New Year, minna-san! 

¡Que tengan un prospero año nuevo! 

~Angel 

* * *

Translators Notes: 

Shogatsu: New Years (Japanese New Year is from the 1st to the 3rd of January)  
Sumimasen: In this ficcy, I'm using it as "Excuse me"  
Nani?: What? 

* * *

Today was the day.... 

The day that everyone had been waiting for.... 

The day that takes a whole year to come... 

The eve of the day when everyone gets a second chance.... 

What day is this you wonder? 

Why, the Eve of Shogatsu of course...... 

* * *

The doorbell rang for the umpteenth time that evening. It was perfect.... A light gentle snow was falling and a roaring fire was burning in the living room. 

Everyone was there.... Well, everyone but one. Nobody had seen or heard from her in a very long time.... Perhaps touring with Masanorico and such. They wondered if they'd ever see her again...... 

One of them prayed she'd come back...... 

The chocolate eyed, big-haired soccer player who had _finally_ matured (somewhat....)...... 

They sat down by the fireplace and began to chat. Taichi rested his head against the arm of the sofa. Suddenly he began to lift his head slowly. He sensed someone..... _Her._ It had to be! 

"Sumimasen....." a voice softly said. 

They all turned around. There stood Sora. 

She smiled at them. "Sorry I'm late...." 

"Sora!" they all screeched. 

Mimi, Hikari, and Miyako all stood up and ran over to her, practically knocking her down and immediately bombarding her with questions. 

The guys walked over. 

"Guys...she just got here.... I'm sure she'll explain everything later...." Jou said, in attempt to break up the girls. 

"Thats right......" 

"Sora....god...look at you!" Yama said.  
"All grown up and even more radient than you left us" Jou said, a smile on his face.  
"Yeah ditto" Koushirou said. 

"Tell me again how you got in here and didnt set off any of the alarms?" Ken said, crossing his arms and frowning. 

She grinned. "After living with four guys for four years, you pick up a few things..... By the way, I absolutely _love_ your car......" 

"Memo to self: Keep a close eye on the boxster....." 

She grinned and pretended to look innocent. "What? I would _never_ hotwire your car and ride off into the sunset with it....." 

He looked at her skeptically. "Right........" 

She just laughed. Taichi was the only one who stayed quiet. He just looked at her. The way her hair fell around her face as she talked.... The way she laughed... How white her teeth were when she smiled..... 

She was beautiful..... She had blossomed from the skinny 14 year old into what she was now. What a difference four years makes......... 

He finally took the time to admire what she was wearing, although you couldnt see very much of it. She had on a silver-black ballgown skirt and a top of some sort under the coat she was wearing. 

"Hi Taichi......."  
"Hi......" 

Silence. 

Taichi wanted to talk to her so bad..... But not here, not with all the people staring. 

"Come on guys.... Dinner's on the table..." Ken said, watching the two, knowing that now was the time to leave them alone. He pushed everyone to the dining room. 

"You look nice...." he said when everyone was gone.  
"You dont look so bad yourself...." 

More silence. 

"We should go.... They're waiting for us..." he said.   
"Right...." she said quietly. "You go... I have to put my coat down"  
"Alright" 

And with that he left her. 

* * *

They all sat down at the huge table and waited for Sora to come back. Suddenly, she walked into the room. 

"Sorry for making you wait..." 

"Its okay Sora... Have a seat" 

The only seat that was available was the seat in between Mimi and Miyako. Sora mentally groaned. _This is gonna be a looong dinner....._

She took her seat. She looked up, and noticed that right there across from her was Taichi. _Well...maybe I can survive this seat....._ She smiled at him and looked over to Mimi who had started to bug her with some impertinant question. 

Taichi watched her as she talked to Mimi. She glanced at him between "uh huh"s and smiled. He smiled back at her. 

Pretty soon the food was passed out and eaten. Ken shooed them away from the table and into the living room. Only Sora and Taichi stayed behind. 

"Ken... Would you like some help clearing off the table?" she said, slowly rising from the table. 

"Oh..dont worry about it... I'll just put it in the dishwasher..." 

"Are you sure? I mean I dont mind... and I dont want to be rude or anything...." 

"Yes. Now go" 

"Man..you're dense. If someone's offering to do dishes for you...you say no? I sure as hell wouldnt" Taichi said, with a smirk.   
"Fine Sora... But only if you want to"  
"I do" 

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. Kitchen's that way. Here, lemmie help you clear the plates" 

* * *

They had finally cleared off all the plates and Taichi and Sora were in the kitchen alone, washing dishes. 

"Why'd you have to volunteer to do this?"  
"Because I'm nice Taichi..... and I'm not rude either. If you didnt want to wash dishes, why did you stick around?"  
He felt himself blush. "No....I want to help.... I feel bad that you're in here by yourself washing all these dishes while everyone else is just chilling by the fire..."  
She smiled at his blushing face. "Such a sweetie..." 

That made him blush even more. "Cool! I found cake!" he said, in an attepmt to divert the attention from his blushing face. He stuck his finger in the frosting. 

"Cake? Coolness! Cut me a piece"   
"Alright" He went in search of a knife and a plate. 

She began to furiously scrub a plate. "Ugh! This crap wont come off!" 

He turned around and looked over her shoulder to see what it was. "Thats because you're not scrubbing hard enough" He put his hand on hers and began to scrub at the food stain. It slowly began to break up. "See?" 

"What would I do without you?" she said, turning around to face him, a smile crossing her face. 

He touched her nose with a frosted finger and smiled. "I have no idea...." 

She smiled, and felt a blush come on. "Thanks, now I have frosting on my nose...."  
"I can fix that..." 

He leaned over and kissed her nose, taking the frosting away. They both blushed furiously. They just turned away from each other, their faces still burning with a blush, and went back to whatever they were doing before. 

* * *

Soon, they were done with the dishes. 

"Ah...Finally!" Taichi said, stretching. "Dishes are so boring!" 

Sora laughed. "Ditto" 

"What do ya say we look around this place?"   
"I dont know... I dont exactly like the idea of snooping around his house...."  
"Aww...come on.... I'll be like an adventure"  
"I--I dunno...."  
"Pwese?" he said, adorably. 

She looked at him when he said that. He looked so adorable, putting on that childlike face. 

She sighed in defeat. "Fine...." 

* * *

They wandered around Ken's house together. 

"Taichi do you know where we're going?"  
"Nope. But I want to find this place I know about though.... Come on. Lets try this room" 

They stopped in front of the door. 

"Go on..Open it Taichi"  
He shook his head in terror. "I'm not openin it!"  
"Why not?"  
He just shook his head. 

"Fine.. I'll open it... You're such a wuss..." she said, grabbing the door handle. 

She slowly opened the door and peeked inside. 

"Its dark..."  
"You scawed Sowa?" he said, in his adorable baby voice.  
"Not in the least" she said, smiling. "Come on...." 

She grabbed his hand and walked with him inside the dark room. The door slammed behind them. Sora gasped and practically jumped on Taichi. 

"Sorry...."   
"Jeez! You gave me a heart attack!"  
"I said sorry..."  
"I know you did. Come on, help me look for a light switch...." 

They groped the walls trying to find a switch. Sora found one that turned on dim spotlights. They flashed on one at a time, the light beaming down on at least 10 different cars. 

"Holy shit...." Sora breathed.  
"Jackpot!" Taichi grinned. "I knew I'd find this room!" 

They stared at all the cars that were in this garage. Sora grinned at one of the cars and started walking towards it. She stopped in front of it. 

"God I love this car......." 

She began to slowly run her fingers all over the body of the car. 

Taichi stopped in front of "her" car. "Nice....." 

"Its a Porsche Boxster...." 

"Yeah I know..." 

He began to ramble off all the things the car had, how fast it goes, etc. You know, what guys always do when they see a nice car. 

"Oh who cares...." Sora interrupted him. "I dont care how fast it goes.... I just like the way it looks......" 

He started laughing. "Cute...very cute...." 

"Is that an Audi?!" She ran to it in her heels and her ballgown. 

Taichi couldnt help but laugh. He turned back to the Boxster. 

* * *

"Sora! Hey Sora come over here!" 

"What is it?" she said, walking back to Taichi and the Boxster. 

He opened the door to the car. 

Sora's mouth dropped open. "You didnt...." 

He grinned and pointed to the steering column. 

"Taichi Yagami.... I am utterly ashamed of you...." she said in mock anger. 

He picked her up and carried her in his arms. 

"What are you doing?" she asked a grin on her face.   
He grinned. "Kidnapping you...." 

* * *

"Jeez.....Taichi and Sora are taking an awfully long time to wash those dishes....." Hikari commented looking at her watch. 

"Maybe what they're washing isnt dishes......" Daisuke snickered. 

That comment was recieved with glares from the rest of the digidestined. 

"M--Maybe they're washing...glasses! Yeah, yeah...or silverware!" Daisuke said, frantically. 

They all sweatdropped. 

"I'd better go see what they're up to. Knowing Taichi, he's emptied half the contents of my fridge" Ken said, standing up. 

"We'll all go" Hikari said, also standing up. 

* * *

They arrived at a very empty kitchen. The dishes were all washed already and were just sitting there in a pile next to the sink. 

"Great....he got to my leftover cake...." Ken said, with mock anger as he surveyed the chocolate cake. 

"If they're not here, where are they?" Mimi asked.  
"Shouldnt we check the bedrooms?" Daisuke said. 

His coment recieved glares once again. 

"What? Its only a suggestion...." 

"If there's one place Taichi will go......" Ken began. "Damnit...." He thought aloud. "You guys stay here. I'll be right back..." 

With that Ken left, running for his car garage. 

* * *

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY PORSCHE?!?!?!" Ken screamed. 

The others came running for him. 

"Whats wrong Ken?" Koushirou asked.  
"Holy shit......" Yamato breathed. "Are all these yours?!" He said, looking at all the cars. 

"Yes they are... I collect them. And my Porsche is gone!" 

He pulled out his phone and dialed the number. 

* * *

The Porsche moved lonely on the empty road, still speeding, the driver testing the limits of his new toy. 

"Nice choice Sora..." Taichi grinned at her, making the car go faster. 

"Isnt it great? I want this car so bad!" 

Suddenly Taichi's cell phone rang. 

"Can you get that?" he asked Sora. "Just check the caller ID first"  
"Sure" she said, reaching for the phone that was sticking out of his right pant pocket. 

She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. "Its Ken" she said grinning. 

"Aww...he wants to spoil our fun....." He said, with mock sadness. "Ignore it" 

Sora smiled and threw it under her seat. 

* * *

"Damnit Taichi!" Ken yelled at the phone. 

Hikari simply chuckled. "He's not gonna answer the phone. He's got a nice, fast car and he's got Sora in the passenger seat. Would you answer the phone? I dont think so..." 

* * *

Silence. 

There was only silence in the car. Sora rolled down the window of the Boxster. 

Taichi looked at her in silence. He just glanced at her every time he wasnt looking at the road. 

"So howya been Taichi? Any girls catch your eye?" she said, teasingly, trying to talk over the noise of the wind coming in through the window.  
"None. Actually, I want to stay single for now. I want to concentrate on my studies."  
"Amazing words coming out of Taichi Yagami's mouth...."  
"Yeah...Single's life for me"  
"Too bad..." she said quietly. 

_ She rolls the window down   
And she talks over the sound  
Of the cars that pass us by   
And I don't know why   
But she's changed my mind  
_

Taichi wondered if he was going to keep his promise to himself about staying single. Sure he'd meant it, but that was before _she_ came back..... 

_ When you look at her, she looks at me   
She's got me thinking about her constantly   
But she don't know how I feel   
And she carries on with out a doubt  
I wonder if she's figured out I'm crazy for this girl   
Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl   
_

Taichi stopped the car. He got out and let Sora out. He grinned and picked her up. She yelped as she grabbed onto his neck. 

"So...Where are we?"  
"You dont remember this place?" 

Sora clutched his neck and attempted to look around. 

"Ohmigod.....I do remember this place..... This is the place where I told you to come whenever you wanted to talk to me"  
"Yes..."  
"Why did you bring me here?"  
"Cause I want to talk to you.... I've been wanting to talk to you ever since I saw you today....."  


Taichi walked over to a tree and put her down under it. He turned away from her. 

"Okay... What do you want to talk to me about?" 

"Where have you been the past four years?" he said turning around, the pain never more evident in his eyes. 

She looked hurt and couldnt even look into his eyes. 

"Thats a very long story..."  
"Well, I've got all night. I want to know why... I want to know why you left and never came back...."  
"Well..." she began, unsure of where to begin. "You probably know I was touring with Masanorico and thats why I left. And I left to escape my father..."  
"I understand that" his eyes, narrowing at the thought of her father.  
"Well yeah. We left Odaiba and never looked back. Masa used to tell me that. 'Dont look back' he said. So that's exactly what I did. I left and didnt look back"   
"You could have said goodbye..." he said, tears welling up in his eyes. "Do you know what it was like not knowing what happened to your best friend?! It was hell not knowing where you were. God...it scared me so bad.... I thought you were dead! You just disappeared from the face of the earth... You really hurt me Sora... I was dying without you.... I couldnt live without you... You're my foundation. You keep me going.... God...you even make me want to wake up every morning........" 

Tears fell from her cheeks as he spoke. Some of anguish and sadness and some of pure happiness..... She walked over to him and tried to wrap her arms around him, but he began to shrug her arms off of him. 

"What are you doing?"  
"Just let me hold you...." 

He allowed her to wrap her arms around him to hold him in her arms. 

"I--I'm sorry.... I'm so so sorry..." she sobbed. 

_ She was the one to hold me   
The night the sky fell down   
And what was I thinking when the world didn't end   
Well I know, I know now   
_

"Oh no Sora...dont cry..." he wrapped his arms around her. 

"Now I wish I had stayed. Not only to be with you...but to escape the things that happened to me while I was gone..."  
"What happened?"  
"Lots of things... Lots of bad things...." she said crying.  
"Tell me..."  
"I couldnt... You might hate me...."  
"Hate you? I could never... Please Sora...tell me, so I can make it better...."  
"You wont be able to. But I'll tell you anyway..." 

He nodded and began to pull away from her. 

"No...dont let go..." she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.  
"Okay...." he said, holding her again. 

"Well....last year? Yeah, last year, me and the guys were at a gig at a local club. It was really late, like 11 or 12 or something... I dont remember but... we were there. One of our techies, Josh, had brought along a few friends to that gig. So all of us were sitting at a table together. Everyone was drinking, whether it be rum or vodka...something. Anyway... I had only had about 2 drinks that night, and I had the hugest headache ever. So I asked Masa and Stephen if they had any advil or something. They said no, but one of the guys I didnt know said they did. So I took it from him and told the guys that I'd be in the breakroom sleeping if they needed me. So I said goodnight whatever, and went to the breakroom, took the asprin and fell asleep." 

She got really quiet and it took a nudge from Taichi to get her talking again. 

"What happened Sora? Why'd you stop?"  
"The next thing I have to say is painful for me to say......" she said, looking into his eyes. 

"Please tell me Sora... I dont like to see you like this.... It kills me to see you like this...." 

She took a deep breath and continued. "The next morning, I woke up and found myself back at the hotel. We'd been staying in a suite in a local hotel. So it was big and had like 3 rooms. I of course was sleeping alone...but that one morning....." 

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she held on to Taichi harder. She layed her head on his chest, tears rolling off her cheeks and glistening in the moonlight. 

"I--I woke up....and I didnt...I didnt have any clothes on....." 

Taichi's mouth almost fell open. Sora buried her face in his chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Taichi struggled to hold her sob-racked frame. He felt his heart being crushed with sadness. He couldnt believe someone took advantage of her like that.... That someone had actually robbed her of the innocence that she had tried so hard to protect from her father. 

"S--" he began.  
"God Taichi..... I was so scared...... I wish you could have been there for me......."  
"I wish I could have been there too...." 

* * *

_ He stood in a corner of a room. A bedroom to be precise. There was a girl laying in the bed. Suddenly, the girl sat up and frantically looked around her. She was fully nude. He closed his eyes instinctively, then opened them again. He blushed as he surveyed her body. He realized then that this girl was Sora..... He was living the time that Sora was telling him about. _

He watched her put on a bathrobe and run out of the room, screaming for Masanorico. He walked to where she had gone and saw Masanorico run out of his room to be with her. 

"Whats wrong Sora? What happened? Tell me" Masanorico said.   
"Someone....was in my room last night..... Someone...someone....." she choked with sobs.  
"Someone what? What did they do to you?" he asked frantically.  
"They--They...." she sobbed more. "Raped me...." she said, barely a whisper.  
"N--Nani?" he breathed out.  
She nodded and showed him her bare shoulder. "No clothes when I woke up...." she whispered. 

He held her in his arms and cried with her. 

"Stay here...." he whispered into her hair. 

She nodded and he let go. Taichi watched as Masanorico went to every room and woke everyone up. Pretty soon everyone was standing there, either fully awake or half asleep. 

"Whats wrong Masa?" Seth said, knowing that something was wrong.  
"Come on... Tell us...." Stephen added.   
"Whats wrong with Sora? Why has she been crying?" Mamoru said, looking from Sora to Masanorico. 

"Who was in Sora's room last night?" Masanorico began, softly.  
"We werent..." Stephen said. "And I'm speaking for Seth and Mamo. We were rehearsing in our room. None of us left the room last night"  
"Swear to me..." Masanorico said seriously.   
"I swear it" the three of them said. 

He then turned to the techie, Josh. 

"Josh...."  
"I swear I wasnt in her room last night... I was loading our crap into the elevator to bring it up here..."  
"And what about the friends you were with?"  
"Well, Jim was with me.... and David....." 

Josh looked at Jim. "Where was David last night?"  
Jim shrugged. "He was helping us and then he said he had something important to do and that he would see us in the morning. But I havent seen him yet...." 

"Thats because he's probably not even here......" Masanorico said, looking back at Sora. 

"Masa, what the hell is going on?" Stephen asked, seriously. 

Masanorico motioned for Sora to come over to him. She did. "Sora...why dont you go lay down over there on the sofa? I'll be there in a few minutes okay?" 

She nodded and walked out of the room. Taichi followed her. 

He watched as she slowly layed down on the sofa. He heard the astonished gasps and questions from the others in the other room as they found out what happened to Sora. 

She closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. She began to cry softly. Taichi looked crushed. He walked over to her and the sofa, and sat down on the edge of it. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he slowly began to run his fingers through her hair. 

"Taichi...." he heard her whimper. 

He froze. Did she know that it was him? 

"Taichi, I need you...... I wish you could be here for me...... I need you to hold me in your arms and say everything will be okay......." 

"I'm right here......." he whispered. He managed to wrap his arms around her shivering frame. "Everything will be okay......" 

* * *

"Everything will be okay...." he whispered. 

"Taichi....." she breathed. 

He opened his eyes and realized that he was back, in this reality.... 

"Sora.....I'm so so sorry I wasnt there for you......" He held her tighter. 

"You couldnt have been.... I left and didnt tell anyone where I was..... I wanted to call you so bad..... But I knew that wouldnt change anything..... So I didnt. I'm sorry...." 

"Dont be...."  
"But...what you said..."  
"I didnt mean it....."  
"But...." she looked saddened. "Taichi....."  
"Yes?"  
"Am I really the reason you wake up every morning?" she whispered.  
He smiled at her. "Yes...."  
"And....you couldnt live without me?" she said, looking so innocent.  


He froze. _Has she figured it out? Or does she not know how I feel yet?_

_ When you look at her, she looks at me   
She's got me thinking about her constantly  
But she don't know how I feel   
And she carries on with out a doubt  
I wonder if she'll figure out I'm crazy for this girl   
Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl   
_

"Probably not...." 

_ I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you _

She looked at him with a smile on her face. She just hugged him. 

_ When you look at her and she looks at me   
She's got me thinking about her constantly   
But she don't know how I feel   
And she carries on with out a doubt  
I wonder if she's figured out that I'm crazy for this girl   
Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl.  
_

* * *

"Look. Only a half hour left till Shogatsu!" Mimi said, exitedly. 

"Where is my brother? If he doesnt make it, I'm gonna kick him!" Hikari said, angrily. 

"You said so yourself that he wouldnt come back" Takeru said. 

The look Hikari gave him was enough to shut him up. "Nevermind..." Takeru said, quickly. 

"Dont worry Hikari, Taichi will make it for Shogatsu...you'll see...." Jou said, trying to be reassuring. 

* * *

"Crap! We're not gonna make it!" Taichi said, running for the car. 

They both ran across the field towards the Porsche that sat there on the side of the road waiting for them. They jumped in the car and slammed the doors shut. Taichi began to start the car. 

"How much time we got left?"  
"A half hour"  
"A half hour? Damnit...."  
"Better start driving...."  
He grinned. "Yeah that would help, huh?"  
She smiled at him. "Would you just drive already" she said, laughing. 

With that, the Boxster sped away. 

* * *

They all stood crowded around the television, watching in anticipation. 

Taichi and Sora still werent back yet, and Hikari was getting nervous. 

"You said they'd be here Jou!"   
"Hey...I cant promise you a thing...." Jou said. "You know him better than any of us here...." 

"Shh! Guys here goes the countdown!" Miyako yelled over the noise. 

"10...9....8....7...." they all yelled exitedly. 

* * *

Taichi and Sora jumped out of the car and ran towards the door. Sora opened it and they both ran inside. 

They ran to the living room where they saw everyone chanting..... They stayed behind them. 

He grinned at her. "We made it..." 

_ "....6...5...." _

She grinned back at him. "We almost died....." 

_ "....4...3...."_

"But we made it..." he said, still grinning. 

_ "....2...1!"_

"So true...." she said with a smile. 

_ "Shogatsu!!" _

Little confetti's rained down on the two of them. 

"Taichi...." 

"Yes?" 

"You know how you said that you couldnt live without me?" 

He felt a blush come on his face. "Yeah?" 

"Well....I cant live without you either....." 

"S--Serious?" 

She nodded. 

"Sora.....I dont know if you noticed but--" 

"I'm crazy about you too...." she interrupted with a smile on her face, knowing what he was going to say. 

He smiled, and he felt like his heart would burst with happiness. 

"Happy Shogatsu..." he whispered. 

He leaned over and kissed her bottom lip. Slowly, he began to kiss her fully, until their first kiss had turned into one filled with more passion and desire than they'd ever experienced. 

The others turned around and saw them together, how their lips were locked in a kiss. 

"See...told you they'd make it..." Jou whispered, giving Hikari a nudge. 

She just smiled. 

The kiss Taichi and Sora were sharing still didnt break. 

_

"Look at the things that happen when the clock strikes midnight"

_

* * *

Well? Whatdya think? Please leave me a review...Please? 

Sorry Logan... I know I promised you a _whole_ taiora, with no angst.... But you know me... I cant just write a straight out taiora without it having at least a *tiny* bit of angst in it somewhere.... Hey, be happy I didnt kill Tai or Sora.... *laughs* Oh yeah...and I took that flashback tidbit from our story...dont be too mad....uh...he he.... *waits for wrath* 

Well its been a pleasure writing this little ficcy for ya minna-san. 

Till next time, Ja! 

~Angel 


End file.
